To be blunt, Age Of Ultron #1 was a major let down. For five years we’ve been hearing about “Bendis’ Ultron” project, the coup d'état to his Avengers run, and this is how it starts off? What a disappointment.

To make matters worse, Age Of Ultron #1 felt almost exactly like House of M #2-3. The reader “wakes up” in the middle of a mystery where a villain has taken over the world and the characters are already used to the situation and the main focus of the book has to fight his way to meet up with Luke Cage.

The mystery is the same: What happened? The reader is introduced the new status quo in the same manner. Spider-Man, as in House Of M, is the most interesting character. Oh, and we can’t forget Hawkeye rage! I’m no expert on the character, far from it in fact, but was he always this killy? I mean, wow, Clint was all kinds of “arrow through the throat” happy, even when not directly threatened. It was very off-putting.

One major difference between House Of M and Age of Ultron so far is that Marvel is doing a good enough job spoiling plot points on their own and don’t need Wizard to do it for them. If you do not want to know what’s coming up in Flashpoint Age Of Ultron, don’t read this month’s Previews Magazine or any upcoming Marvel advanced previews.

Bendis does a good job of not being too Bendis-y with his dialogue, and his Spider-Man reads the way I thought Doc Oct would sound as Spider-Man. Readers can feel the anger and frustration of all the heroes, and the fear of the villains, through out the issue, and there is an overwhelming sense of hopelessness that permeates the book. The problem is, that it is pretty obvious too early that the consequences here will only be temporary and, like House Of M, probably won’t be remembered by the majority of the Marvel Universe. This issue screams self-retcon.

Bryan Hitch’s art ranges from the beautiful – pages 1-5 and the final page especially – to the just plain horrid – the five pages before the last page, and it all seems to come down to size of the panels he has to work with; the smaller the image, the less attractive the art. But those splash pages sure are pretty.

I can’t remember being less interested in a #2 of a Marvel event ever. I think I even liked Fear Itself #1 more than Age Of Ultron. Here’s the thing though, I still have faith in Bendis and if this is something he’s planned out for a long time, I’m willing to give it a couple more issues before I write it off.

To be blunt, Age Of Ultron #1 was a major let down. For five years we’ve been hearing about “Bendis’ Ultron” project, the coup d'état to his Avengers run, and this is how it starts off? What a disappointment.

To make matters worse, Age Of Ultron #1 felt almost exactly like House of M #2-3. The reader “wakes up” in the middle of a mystery where a villain has taken over the world and the characters are already used to the situation and the main focus of the book has to fight his way to meet up with Luke Cage.

The mystery is the same: What happened? The reader is introduced the new status quo in the same manner. Spider-Man, as in House Of M, is the most interesting character. Oh, and we can’t forget Hawkeye rage! I’m no expert on the character, far from it in fact, but was he always this killy? I mean, wow, Clint was all kinds of “arrow through the throat” happy, even when not directly threatened. It was very off-putting.

One major difference between House Of M and Age of Ultron so far is that Marvel is doing a good enough job spoiling plot points on their own and don’t need Wizard to do it for them. If you do not want to know what’s coming up in Flashpoint Age Of Ultron, don’t read this month’s Previews Magazine or any upcoming Marvel advanced previews.

Bendis does a good job of not being too Bendis-y with his dialogue, and his Spider-Man reads the way I thought Doc Oct would sound as Spider-Man. Readers can feel the anger and frustration of all the heroes, and the fear of the villains, through out the issue, and there is an overwhelming sense of hopelessness that permeates the book. The problem is, that it is pretty obvious too early that the consequences here will only be temporary and, like House Of M, probably won’t be remembered by the majority of the Marvel Universe. This issue screams self-retcon.

Bryan Hitch’s art ranges from the beautiful – pages 1-5 and the final page especially – to the just plain horrid – the five pages before the last page, and it all seems to come down to size of the panels he has to work with; the smaller the image, the less attractive the art. But those splash pages sure are pretty.

I can’t remember being less interested in a #2 of a Marvel event ever. I think I even liked Fear Itself #1 more than Age Of Ultron. Here’s the thing though, I still have faith in Bendis and if this is something he’s planned out for a long time, I’m willing to give it a couple more issues before I write it off.

Rain Partier

I read this so I'd have a book in common with the rest of you to discuss. I actually agree with all of that. I had many of the same thoughts, including the similarity to previous events like House of M. So much more seemed to take place in House of M #1, though maybe my memory of it is faulty. This was thin gruel served up in AoU 1, watered-down and decompressed.

Rain Partier

I read this so I'd have a book in common with the rest of you to discuss. I actually agree with all of that. I had many of the same thoughts, including the similarity to previous events like House of M. So much more seemed to take place in House of M #1, though maybe my memory of it is faulty. This was thin gruel served up in AoU 1, watered-down and decompressed.

Rain Partier

Really sad I bought this. Marvel doesn't make me angry like they think spurs their fans on to keep buying their crap like this, they make me feel mournful for that four dollars and all the less useless things I could have done with it. They make me hate what comics have become, four dollar wastes of paper that can be read at a stoplight with no more meaningful or long-lasting depth to them whatsoever. Just a shill, the latest snake-oil tonic by Bendis, or Johns, or Fraction. Or worse.

Rain Partier

Really sad I bought this. Marvel doesn't make me angry like they think spurs their fans on to keep buying their crap like this, they make me feel mournful for that four dollars and all the less useless things I could have done with it. They make me hate what comics have become, four dollar wastes of paper that can be read at a stoplight with no more meaningful or long-lasting depth to them whatsoever. Just a shill, the latest snake-oil tonic by Bendis, or Johns, or Fraction. Or worse.

dINGO

I cannot believe I'm going to say this, but I actively hated this book at the end. It had to be the quickest read in a while...and that's truly saying something these days. I get that it's the first chapter, but this thing felt like an old 1/2 Wizard ashcan (look it up kids). It was the worst $3.99 I've spent in some time. I'm probably just going to rely on others feedback on future issues to see if it's worth picking up back issues or a trade. Ugh. Bendis at his absolute decompressed worst. How many pages in this book anyway? With all the double page spreads, it felt like ten.

dINGO

I cannot believe I'm going to say this, but I actively hated this book at the end. It had to be the quickest read in a while...and that's truly saying something these days. I get that it's the first chapter, but this thing felt like an old 1/2 Wizard ashcan (look it up kids). It was the worst $3.99 I've spent in some time. I'm probably just going to rely on others feedback on future issues to see if it's worth picking up back issues or a trade. Ugh. Bendis at his absolute decompressed worst. How many pages in this book anyway? With all the double page spreads, it felt like ten.

Motherfucker from Hell

Really sad I bought this. Marvel doesn't make me angry like they think spurs their fans on to keep buying their crap like this, they make me feel mournful for that four dollars and all the less useless things I could have done with it. They make me hate what comics have become, four dollar wastes of paper that can be read at a stoplight with no more meaningful or long-lasting depth to them whatsoever. Just a shill, the latest snake-oil tonic by Bendis, or Johns, or Fraction. Or worse.

Really sad I bought this. Marvel doesn't make me angry like they think spurs their fans on to keep buying their crap like this, they make me feel mournful for that four dollars and all the less useless things I could have done with it. They make me hate what comics have become, four dollar wastes of paper that can be read at a stoplight with no more meaningful or long-lasting depth to them whatsoever. Just a shill, the latest snake-oil tonic by Bendis, or Johns, or Fraction. Or worse.